


fantasy / fiction

by airshipcity



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Canon Compliant, During Canon, Gen, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-18 10:12:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17578928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/airshipcity/pseuds/airshipcity
Summary: After the fourth trial, Tsumugi really wants to know where things started to fall apart, and goes to find the person who singlehandedly steered the train off the carefully laid rails. Kokichi figures he can spare the time for a few chats.





	1. Chapter 1

When Kokichi came out of Miu’s lab, carrying a heavy-looking sack behind him, he actually looked genuinely surprised to see her. 

“Aw, man,” he said, tilting his head. “I thought for sure no one would be up yet.” 

“And I thought you had at least enough of a moral compass to not loot a dead friend’s lab,” Tsumugi said, frowning. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she leaned against the wall of the lab. 

“It’s not looting, it’s collecting,” Kokichi said, eyeing her for a moment before letting the heavy bag sink to the ground next to him. “She made these for me, so I’m just picking up my order. It’s her own fault she decided to plan to murder me, so I wouldn’t feel guilty even if I was straight up stealing from her.” He grinned. “Besides, robbery is really nothing in the grand scheme of a supreme leader, don’t you think?” 

“I wouldn’t know,” Tsumugi sighed. “Someone as plain as me can’t imagine what it must be like to have no conscience.” 

That was enough to drop Kokichi’s mask a little, she noted. His expression dipped briefly back to that blank, blunt look he’d take on sometimes, when he’d suddenly get serious for just a short while. It was always interesting to watch the little changes. 

“So, how’d you find me here at the crack of dawn anyway? Even Shuichi hasn’t bothered to find out what I’m up to. It’s been hurting my feelings, really.” 

Tsumugi allowed a small smile. “A plain girl like me might not take up much space in a place like this, but I have been told I’m rather perceptive. Being a wallflower makes it easier to see the bigger picture, I suppose.” She paused. “You might out-stealth the others here, Kokichi, but even I notice when food goes missing from the kitchens. Staying up late and rising early, and food still vanishing between those two times? We’re all pretty tired at breakfast these days, but none of us have been getting up that early. It was plain to see who the culprit had to be. From there, all I had to do was get up early and follow you here.” 

“Maaan, you got me there,” Kokichi said, grinning wide again. “You’ve been pretty good at pretending to be an average dumbass, but you really do like being clever and showing off, huh? You know, I can respect that. Keeps people on their toes.” His eyes narrowed, turning his expression into a smirk. “Fine. You’ve got me to yourself. Clearly you didn’t tell anyone else, because no one has jumped out of the bushes to kick my ass, so what did you really want?” 

“Why are you doing this?” she blurted out, taking a step closer to Kokichi, who looked perfectly unperturbed. “Killing Miu instead of asking us for help, throwing Gonta under the bus like that, all of the lies from the start… And now, whatever it is you’re taking from Miu’s lab. All the secrecy.” She bit her lip, breathing in. “What’s your plan?” 

“Is that all?” 

Tsumugi blinked. “What...?” 

Kokichi gave her another blank look. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? I’m playing the game.” 

“No,” she said, pursing her lips. She knew better than anyone else at the school that he wasn’t really playing the game. He was pushing it, trying to break it, throwing wrenches into the gears she had carefully and meticulously set up and oiled herself. “I… I don’t think you are. At least, not the way Monokuma wants us to.” 

“Oh?” Something in his eyes shifted again, and he stepped closer. “What do you know about what Monokuma really wants?” 

“I just don’t think you’re taking this seriously,” Tsumugi said quickly, glancing aside. “You… you let Gonta die. I understand that you wanted to stop Miu from killing you, and I suppose I can’t prove that you were lying about your intentions as the Killing Game Busters if you really did want to save us from a fate worse than death. But even if that was the truth, why… Why would you sell Gonta out like that? You knew,” she inhales, “you knew perfectly well that the trial could only end one of two ways. Either Gonta would die, or everyone else, including yourself, would. If this was all to end the game and have Gonta be the sole survivor, why would you want the mystery to be solved?” 

Kokichi blinked, tilting his head. “Because I’m a liar. Did you forget?” 

Tsumugi narrowed her eyes. “So you’re saying you really just wanted to sacrifice Gonta to keep yourself from dying?” 

“You weren’t this upset with anyone else for having someone die for their own selfish reasons,” Kokichi replied, calm as ever. “Why does it matter what my reasons were?” 

“The others died for what they did.” She gritted her teeth. “They were punished for it. They played the game.” 

“So you’re upset that I got away with it?” A curious smile played on his face. “I mean, you’re the first person to even want to talk to me after the trial. Maki would kill me on the spot if I actually came to the meals, or anywhere, really. Don’t you think that counts as a kind of punishment?” 

“Only if you didn’t want it that way.” She crossed her arms again. “You don’t seem that bothered by it. If anything, I’d plain guess you’re just happy no one’s getting in the way of whatever you’re plotting next.” 

“Oh, I know. I’m a very good liar, after all.” 

Kokichi took a quick step back, grabbing the sack and hauling it off, giving a jaunty wave. “Have fun with whatever you peons are getting up to without me. Oh, and I’ll kill you if you tell anyone about this, got it?” 

Tsumugi stared at him as he walked off, clenching her jaw. She didn’t get what she came for, but it was a start. “No, you won’t.”


	2. Chapter 2

The second time she found him there, the next morning, she was the one who was surprised. 

“I honestly didn’t think you’d be back here again,” Tsumugi said, a little wary as she walked up to the boy sitting on the grass. “Much less like this.” Kokichi just grinned and patted the free spot next to him on the picnic blanket. 

“Hungry?” he asked, as though there was nothing strange about the situation at all. 

Tsumugi bit her lip thoughtfully. “I am, but… I’m not so sure I should trust this. What if you’ve put toothpaste in the bagels to pretend it’s cream cheese?” 

“Wow, you’re more worried about me pulling a prank than me murdering you here when no one else can see and no one has an alibi! I’m sooo honored you trust me so much, Tsumugi.” 

“I really don’t,” she huffed, finally walking over. “Besides, shouldn’t you be worried about the same thing?” 

“What, you killing me?” Kokichi looked like he was, for once, genuinely trying to stifle a laugh, primarily by putting breakfast foods in his mouth. “Mmfh. You’d do it with more dramatics. And I don’t think there’s ever been an anime where someone died at a picnic.” 

So he didn’t discount the idea of her potentially killing. Interesting. She sat down, peering into the conspicuously full basket. “I guess a plain girl like me wouldn’t have a lot of original murder ideas, even if I wanted to kill someone,” Tsumugi said, finally picking out an apple that looked like it couldn’t have been tampered with. There was other foodstuff in there, too; maybe he’d taken her stalking to heart and decided to stock up on food so he wouldn’t have to sneak into the common areas as often. 

“Well, you’re a cosplayer, right? Your whole thing is just copying.” He lifted a can of grape soda to his mouth (which couldn’t possibly taste good with the blueberry muffin he’d just consumed in two bites), looking at her with a strange gaze. Tsumugi felt a small shiver run down her spine. 

“Hey,” she muttered, “that’s not nice. Cosplaying is about more than just copying something. It’s… replicating, not just the visual element of a costume or a prop, but the _feeling_ of it. A good cosplay doesn’t just look like the character, it makes you feel as though that character, that item, that _world_ has crossed into your own.” She smiled a little, before her stomach churned briefly again. “It’s about breathing life into something.” Like the characters she had created, carefully writing out compelling backstories, weaving thoughts and ideas and suggestions into them before setting them loose within this academy. 

Like Kokichi, the chaotic wildcard who she’d wanted to make the game more interesting, and who was spiraling out of her control. 

“That sounds super boring,” Kokichi said, faking a loud yawn before leaning back, laying down against the blanket. “But I guess that means we have something in common, right?” 

“What?” She took a bite of her apple, peering down at him, once again genuinely surprised. He grinned lightly back up at her. 

“Fiction. Duh. You take something that isn’t real, and your goal is to make people think it is. You just said yourself, your whole cosplay thing is about taking something made up and bringing it into reality, like it was real the whole time. That’s pretty much the essence of lying, right?” 

Tsumugi’s hand squeezed around the crisp apple, her mouth suddenly feeling a little too dry. “Hahaha… I suppose that’s one way of looking at it. Putting it plainly like that, you have a point. But it’s really not the same.” 

“How is it not the exact same thing?” Kokichi put his hands behind his head, looking at her. This might be the first conversation they’d had where Kokichi hadn’t been actively lying and toying with someone, Tsumugi realized. She hadn’t talked that much with Kokichi on her own before this, but she certainly knew this was somewhat unusual for him. Maybe he really did feel like they had something in common, and that was why he was letting his guard down? He was still being challenging, of course, but that was one of the things that had really been hard-wired into Kokichi from the start. 

Maybe she’d been subconsciously a little biased when she wrote him. 

“Well, lying is just plain mean,” Tsumugi reasoned, though she was both earnestly interested in the conversation as well as trying not to reveal too much of herself behind her character. “And when you lie in particular, you make a point of lying to be rude and mean to others, and confusing people so no one can see who you really are.” 

“That last one is exactly the thing you’re doing,” Kokichi pointed out, and another small sting of panic ran through her before she remembered he was talking about cosplay in general. “As for the rest… I guess that depends on how you see it. Lies aren’t bad by themselves. I’ve been trying to tell you all that for a while now.” 

“You haven’t. Lying is bad,” Tsumugi repeated. He was slowly getting to the breaking point she wanted him to hit. She’d been the one to script the entire event where he manipulated everyone against Kaede and then back against him the next morning, after all, in order to paint himself as a villain while subtly defusing the awkward situations by drawing the attention away; she knew his general stance and M.O. Now she just needed to press. “And you use your lies for plain bad things. There’s nothing about that that depends on anything.” 

“Did you seriously not pay attention to anything I said at the last trial?” Kokichi’s voice was so harsh, so sudden, that she was startled even before he sat up and stared at her, closer than comfort, a pained-looking grimace on his face tinted with an angry red that spread across his face like butter. “You know why Gonta died? Gonta had to die because you all wanted the truth so badly, even though the truth was much shittier and worse and harder to believe than the lie you all really wanted to be the truth, where I was the one who killed Miu. Shuichi even lied about seeing me just because he wanted me to be the killer so badly, like you all did! No one argued against that or defended me until I finally told you all the truth, even though there was plenty of evidence to back me up once I made Shuichi actually look at it! Gonta would have gotten away with it if you’d all just believed the lie, but instead everyone wants to blame me! You would have, no matter how the trial had ended!” 

Tsumugi’s eyes were wide, almost fearful, but at the same time she was… awed, in a way. She hadn’t scripted any of that. She hadn’t scripted what he did at the trial, either – it was exactly what she’d wanted to know for days. This was so much more interesting than she’d imagined. Still, she couldn’t let it show on the outside. 

“You… You wanted us to believe you were the real killer? That was your kind lie?” she asked, her voice softer, a little breathier than intended. 

Kokichi swallowed, staring at her without replying at first, as though he only just realized he’d said more than he should have. Then, he plopped back down on his back again, laughing carelessly in that way only he managed to make it sound convincing. “Oh man, you really believed that little spiel just now? I take it back, Tsumugi, we’re not similar at all. You’re way too gullible to be half the liar I am.” 

“That’s what I’m talking about. Mean,” Tsumugi said, huffing quietly. Kokichi rolled over on his stomach and pushed himself up on his knees, shoving the rest of his own breakfast into the basket. “Hey, are you leaving already?” 

“I’m tired. If I want to hang out with gullible, boring nerds, I’ll just invite Shuichi next time.” 

Tsumugi got up as he started to tug on the picnic blanket. The morning announcement would play soon as well, she was pretty sure. “So it’s not because you lost this round?” she asked nonchalantly, brushing off her skirt and taking another bite of the apple. 

“Lost?” Kokichi repeated, a dangerous glint in his eye as he stood up and began folding the blanket up. “I haven’t lost anything.” 

“Oh? So you didn’t try to manipulate us to think you were the killer until you got angry Shuichi lied about you?” 

“Obviously not,” Kokichi said. He shoved the blanket back onto the basket and picked it up. “But I gotta say, it’s one of the best lie I’ve told in days. You’re still falling for acts I already dropped.” 

“You haven’t talked to anyone but me in days,” she pouted. “Even if I thought you didn’t tell the truth just now, that’s not much of an achievement. Besides, you lie like you breathe, so I refuse to believe you’re even keeping track.” 

“Ugh. I haven’t lost anything to you, but if you really want an excuse to see me again, I’ll just make it a game.” Kokichi shifted his basket in his arms, a smug smile forming on his lips. “If you can find tomorrow before the morning announcement, then I can probably waste a little more time on you. But I won’t make it as easy as I did this time, you know. If you don’t find me, I’m not coming back out until I’ve decided to enact my final master plan.” 

Tsumugi smiled and nodded, feeling a little more energetic. She still wanted to know what he was planning, but she’d gotten more out of him today than she’d expected to. Hopefully, she’d be able to find him for one more talk, before… whatever it was he’d been plotting that required orders from Miu’s lab. “That sounds plain and fair to me. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she challenged, eliciting another small grin from Kokichi as he skittered off. 

“Maybe! And I’ll still kill you if you tell anyone!” 

Tsumugi waved as he vanished up the stairs towards the common areas, taking another bite of her apple as she slowly started to walk in the same direction, knowing he’d be long gone before she even made it to the first step of the stairs. 

She really didn’t know where the game would go anymore, not with Kokichi getting in the way of her story arc. It sent another pleasant, despairing shiver down her spine. A taste of how everyone else must’ve been feeling this whole time. 

No wonder people signed up in droves for this, she mused.


	3. Chapter 3

If Tsumugi learned one thing from the Insect Meet and Greet ordeal, it was that Kokichi is great at playing hide and seek when he really wanted to. She made a point of getting up several hours earlier the next morning; she was used to the rush of getting up and throwing in a quick meal before heading out with a specific mission, except this time she was looking for one boy rather than a convention location she hadn’t been to before. As it turned out, Kokichi had much the same thought. 

It took a solid hour and twenty minutes to track him down and corner him. Tsumugi would occasionally see a glimpse of black and white turning a corner, or a childish giggle at the end of a hallway, coming from one lab or another. Even being used to traversing enormous conference halls in complicated costumes, Tsumugi couldn’t help but get tired after having run up and down several sets of stairs. Even so, whenever she paused to rest, she was sure she could hear an amused, coy hum from somewhere nearby, prompting her to move again. 

Admittedly, it was fun. She hadn’t had such a fun time moving around since the last local con’s K-pop dance roulette, and even then, half the thrill had been the costume, the character, and the cheering audience. This time, though she knew the audience were probably able to get the inside scoop on their little game of tag, it did feel like she was simply playing with a friend. A dangerous thought, she quietly admitted to herself. But for a few early morning hours, the artificial set lights outside still dark and showing stars she’d been delighted to help design, she was a giddy teenager again. 

Finally, she found herself standing outside her own lab. She’d stood there for a few minutes – so far, when he’d lured her to a lab, she’d hear him skittering down another hallway as soon as she went inside. This time, she had a feeling he was staying put. Carefully, Tsumugi pushed open the doors, peering inside. 

Sure enough, her eyes were drawn towards the bar set pretty quickly. On one stool, Kokichi had made himself comfortable, leaning on the counter. Surrounding him, he’d apparently taken all the dressed-up mannequins he could physically drag over, positioning them around the set, giving the impression of a simultaneously crowded scene and lone customer awaiting a bartender’s attention. The set’s speakers were blaring soft, muted background music; not loud enough to make it hard to talk, just enough to help set the scene. Tsumugi smiled as she crossed the room, eyeing Kokichi who casually ignored her in favor of his empty glass until she made her way behind the bar. 

“I’ve been waiting for hours!” Kokichi whined, one elbow against the counter, his head resting on his propped up hand. “The service in this place is horrible. I’m going to leave such a bad review, it’ll just obliterate your whole business.” 

“Then I suppose it’s good this is only a side job for me,” Tsumugi hummed, prying the glass out of his hands and moving to have a look at the non-alcoholic drinks behind the counter. “I didn’t know you knew I can mix.” 

“What, you think you have a monopoly on paying attention to the others around here?” Kokichi grinned, evidently soaking in Tsumugi’s surprised look. “Just kidding! I just assumed as soon as I saw this set had actual drinks. Besides, who’s going to earn a living just cosplaying?” 

“An Ultimate, maybe,” Tsumugi laughed. “But you’re not entirely wrong. Materials and photoshoots can get plain expensive when you don’t have sponsors yet. I’m better off now.” She sucked on her bottom lip for a moment, picking out a bottle. “Or, I was until we ended up here. Who knows how things will be when we finally escape?” 

“Hmm. That’s pretty presumptuous of you.” 

Tsumugi stood up, blinking as she turned to look at Kokichi, who was intently examining her face in return. “Hmm?” 

“You said ‘when’. Do you seriously think we’re going to escape and what, go back to our normal lives again?” 

Tsumugi swallowed quietly and plucked out a few more bottles, and began to mix up a drink – sparkling water, grape juice, lime juice, and ice from the small cooler. Kokichi’s eyes seemed to follow her the whole way, not protesting. “I have to hope we do,” Tsumugi said softly, pouring in the ice cubes first, followed by the mix and a single lime slice from the cooler. “It’s plain to see that the only reason we all manage to hold onto our sanity in here is because we still have hope, right?” 

Kokichi hummed thoughtfully as she slid the glass over. “I’m just messing with you. I can’t wait to get back outside, either. My whole organization is probably losing their collective minds trying to break me out of this dumb place.” He perked up, taking a sip of the drink, making an overwrought grimace. “Augh, are you trying to poison me? What’s this supposed to be, dirty old dishwater?” 

“You like it?” Tsumugi said, leaning on the counter with both arms and a small laugh. “It’s a grape lime rickey.” 

“I didn’t order one,” Kokichi complained, before downing half the glass. 

“If I’d asked you to order something, I plain assumed you’d lead me by the nose until the morning announcement, only to tell me you don’t actually know any drink names.” Judging by the smug, fake-innocent look on his face, Tsumugi figured she hit the nail on the head. 

“Neeheehee. You got me, Tsumugi. You don’t actually believe my lies as often when no one else is around, huh?” He tutted. “For someone who pretends to hate lies so much, you’re keeping up your fair share of lying, too.” 

“I thought you said I wasn’t good at lying.” Tsumugi stifled a yawn, watching Kokici take another delighted sip of his drink. 

“Well, yeah, I was lying. Because I’m a liar, remember? Man, you might be a decent liar, but you have the memory of half a goldfish.” 

“Maybe I’m just getting used to you,” she mused. “Maybe you’re just the one not used to that happening.” 

Another critical hit. Kokichi hand tightened around the glass, just barely visible from where Tsumugi stood, and she leaned a little closer. 

“Hey… Kokichi?” she asked. “Are we friends?” 

Kokichi’s eyes widened for just a split second, before he started laughing. “Oh, man, is that a serious question? It hasn’t even been two full days since you complained I wasn’t killed for what I did to Gonta. How quickly you forget, huh? One morning apple and that’s all it takes? You gotta be really desperate if this is where you’re looking for friendship in this dump. I didn’t think you were that stupid, but man, was I wrong about that one!” 

Tsumugi sighed, fingers toying with the bottles still on the counter, before going to make herself a drink, too. She needed to keep her hands busy. “It’s okay if you don’t want to,” she mused softly. “I’m too plain to be interesting to you, I’m sure. I just… wondered if you wanted to stay here for a little while, maybe try on some costumes. I’ve got a handful laying around that might fit you.” 

“Aw, that’s your whole ploy, huh? Luring me in here just so you can dress me up like your personal toy? I didn’t peg you for that kind of girl, Tsumugi. Except I’m totally lying, I totally knew you were like this.” 

“You’re the one who chose to lead me here, dummy.” Tsumugi finished pouring her drink, taking a sip, but Kokichi had already hopped off his stool and started wandering in the small, condensed forest of mannequins he’d arranged around the bar set. She took a sip, watching him mill about. “And it’s just a suggestion.” 

“You just want my measurements for your own gross purposes,” he huffed, twirling a Sailor Mercury cosplay around on its stand, idly watching the ribbons flop around. “But a supreme leader needs to be pretty good with disguises, so I guess it wouldn’t hurt to see what kinda costumes you’ve got laying around.” 

Tsumugi brightened, taking a larger swig of her mocktail and hurriedly setting down her glass on the way out from behind the counter. “Ohh, I’ve got so many I want you to try on!” 

Just as she started pulling out costume pieces from a rack, the familiar voice of Monokuma rang out from the speakers, and Tsumugi deflated. 

“Oh, no, it’s morning already? But I had so many things for you…” 

“Welp, I guess time’s up,” Kokichi said, stretching his arms. “Now I really can’t waste any more time. My secret plan still needs me to attend to it if I’m going to pull this whole thing off.” 

“Kokichi,” Tsumugi began, biting down on her lip. She’d gotten so caught up in their games that she’d forgotten why she wanted to talk in the first place. “What exactly are you planning…?” 

“I’m not going to spoil the surprise, come on. You’ll find out soon enough.” Kokichi glanced towards the door, smiling slightly. “You’ll all find out when you’re ready for it. You didn’t tell anyone we’ve been talking, right?” 

“Not a soul,” Tsumugi promised. 

“And you’re telling the truth?” 

“That’s rich, coming from you,” she hummed, as she walked over to the doors to the hallway. “But I’m plain sincere. No one knows, as far as I know.” Aside from the rapt audience. “Your plan… does it have something to do with the things you had Miu make for you?” 

Kokichi put a finger on his lips. “That’s a secret.” He let out a laugh, throwing his arms out. “I have some big plans for the mastermind of this thing. That’s all I’ll let you in on for now. Buzz off so I can sneak out while you all have your chummy little breakfast.” 

Another shiver of anticipation ran through her body. “Then I look forward to seeing what you’ve got, Kokichi.” 

“Yeah. So do I,” he replied, barely audible as the doors closed behind her, and Tsumugi was still no wiser as to his plan. No idea what was coming for them. No idea where the story would go next. Nothing but the pit in her stomach, churning with the knowledge that whatever happened next would almost certainly throw her entire story into complete disarray. 

_How despairing_ , she thought to herself, a smile ghosting across her face. The mutual killing game was so much more fun to play with someone to lose.


End file.
